While both the Seattle and Sacramento teams have been trying to spin events since the NBA owners met in New York last week, but they both agree on one thing:

The recommendation of the NBA’s sale and relocation committee will almost certainly hold sway over the course of the Kings’ franchise.

That committee will meet next Monday via conference call, according to multiple reports. At that time the committee will issue it’s recommendation and send that to the other owners.

Seven days after that the owners can vote on the matter (NBA bylaws call for the delay). That vote can be done by conference call or email, the owners do not have to reconvene.

The Maloofs have a deal in place to sell the Kings to a Seattle group is led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. They would purchase 65 percent of the team, which is valued at $550 million (an increased offer), and have applied for relocation to take the team to Seattle. The team would play in the Key Arena in Seattle for a few seasons while a new arena is constructed (it is in environmental review).

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson led a charge to put together a strong counter offer led by billionaire Vivek Ranadive to go with 24-Hour Fitness owner to lead a group buying the team. Their plans also call for a new arena.

All things being equal, several owners have called this a toss-up but seem hesitant to move a team out of a market that has put in the effort Sacramento has to retain the team. The question is are all things equal with the bid? Those owners also realize that Seattle is a larger, wealthier market and that would be handy in future television negotiations.

It requires two-thirds of the owners to approve the sale, meaning just eight owners can block it.

One way or another, a good ownership group is going to lose out. David Stern has shot down any talk of expansion saying the majority of owners do not wish to further divide up the revenue pie.

The NBA, like the NFL, is first and foremost a business seeking profit. When confronted with social issues, from Donald Sterling to “I can’t breathe” shirts, the NBA has always kept an eye on its wallet.

With the threat of anthem protests looming, the NBA proactively met with players to head off any kneeling. That was business strategy, nothing grander.

The NFL is just trying to get to the same point with a similar policy.

But the NFL already alienated its players through the heavy-handed implementation of this policy and years of other issues. The NBA has established greater trust from its players, both by finessing them in talks about societal issues and actually standing behind them, like the Bucks did with Sterling Brown.

There are plenty of opportunities to criticize the NFL relative to the NBA. The leagues’ national-anthem policies are not a good one.

And spare me the idea that leaders trying to divide us from on high is What’s Wrong With Our Country. Centuries of racism have already divided us.

Some leaders, like Donald Trump, exploit those divisions. Other leaders talk fancifully of unity without actually reconciling what caused the divisions.

The 76ers center made just the All-NBA second team, landing behind the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis. Davis surged after Cousins went down, earning overall credit from All-NBA voters, who were also increasingly likely to view him as a center rather than just a forward.

As a result, Davis made the All-NBA first team at center – costing Embiid about $29 million over the next five years.

Embiid’s contract extension, which kicks in next season, calls for his starting salary to be 25% of the salary cap (the typical max for a player with his experience level). If he made the All-NBA first team, his starting salary would have been 30% of the salary cap .

Though the exact cap won’t be determined until July, here’s what Embiid is projected to earn on his standard max and what he could’ve earned on the super max (with 8% raises in both cases):

Obviously Embiid will still earn a lot of money, and he and Philadelphia have a bright future.

But it’s hard not to think, if Cousins didn’t get hurt, Embiid would be even richer.

HOUSTON (AP)– The Houston Rockets will wear patches on their jerseys to honor the victims of the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, on Thursday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

The patches will read: “Santa Fe HS.” It’s one of several tributes the team plans following Friday’s shooting. Eight students and two teachers died at the school, located 30 miles from downtown Houston.

The school’s high school choir will perform the national anthem. There will be a moment of silence and a video tribute before tipoff.

Santa Fe’s senior class and administrators have been invited to attend the game as guests of owner Tilman Fertitta. The Rockets also will honor first responders on the court.